COMPUTER 'SCOPE AIDS IN SCANNING SKIES.Byline: Sharon Cotal Staff Writer SANTA CLARITA Santa Clarita, city (1990 pop. 110,642), Los Angeles co., S Calif., suburb 30 mi (48 km) NW of downtown Los Angeles, on the Santa Clara River; inc. 1987. Situated in the Santa Clara valley and nearby canyons, Santa Clarita includes the former towns of Canyon Country, - By encouraging 23 of its members to join the International Dark-Sky Association The International Dark-Sky Association (acronym: IDA) is a US-based non-profit organisation incorporated in 1988 by a group of astronomers in order to encourage darker skies (through lighting that creates less skyglow) in the USA, and, eventually, throughout the world by the , the Astronomy Club of Santa Clarita recently won a computer-controlled telescope donated by Meade Instruments
Meade Instruments Corporation (aka Meade) is a company based in Irvine, California, that manufactures and imports telescopes, binoculars, spotting scopes, microscopes, CCD cameras and telescope Corp. The Meade ETX ETX - End Of Text 125 arrived in March after the club won first prize in a contest challenging local astronomy clubs to sponsor memberships in the IDA Ida (ē`dä), city (1990 pop. 91,859), Nagano prefecture, central Honshu, Japan, on the Tenryu River. It is an agricultural market and railway junction. . ``We thought some of the bigger clubs would blow us away, so it was a real surprise to win, and an honor to know that we are helping the IDA with its mission,'' said Astronomy Club President Jim Mahon. The IDA is a volunteer organization dedicated to improving the nighttime environment by reducing light pollution, a term used to describe the glare from brightly lit urban areas that washes out the view of the stars. Its goal is to educate the public and policy-makers that nighttime lighting can be controlled without compromising safety or security. ``There are fewer and fewer places to go where it is truly dark,'' Mahon said. Since it was founded in 1985, the club has relied on member-owned telescopes to support public astronomy events such as the education programs held at local schools, and the ``Star Parties'' held at Vasquez Rocks Vasquez Rocks Natural Area Park is a 905 acre (3 km²) northern Los Angeles County, California USA park acquired by LA County government in the 1970s. It is in the Agua Dulce vicinity between the Antelope Valley and the Santa Clarita Valley just north of Los Angeles and seen easily Park and the Valencia Library. ``The addition of a club telescope will allow us to help new amateur astronomers gain experience as observers, and the computer control system is very user-friendly,'' Mahon said. ``I think it has a lot of potential as a learning tool.'' After the name or number of the object selected for viewing is entered, the telescope moves itself to the correct position to see each object selected, from distant galaxies to nearby planets, Mahon said. ``It's a special attraction, especially for kids, to see something acting so alive,'' he said. The club's Star Parties are free and open to the public. The next one will begin at sunset May 19 at Vasquez Rocks Park, 10700 W. Escondido Road, Agua Dulce Agua Dulce is Spanish for "sweet water". It also refers to various locations: In Mexico:
CAPTION(S): photo Photo: Jennifer Mahon, 7, left, and Devon Mayberry, 8, both of Valencia, try out a computerized computer awarded to the Astronomy Club of Santa Clarita. David R. Crane/Staff Photographer |
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